Runaway
by UncleFoco
Summary: After the war with Gaea is over, Leo feels unwanted. He turns to Plan B. ONESHOT


**Hey fellow demigods! This is my first story on fan fiction, so I hope it doesn't suck really bad. And now for the disclaimer!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story. Wow. That's sad. it all belongs to you-know-who. (For now... muahahaha!)**

The creak of rusted iron wheels echoed in the dark, cavernous room, where a small Latino boy worked, covered in oil, soot and sweat. The boy tinkered with bronze wires, his long, slender fingers working at an inhuman speed, with the confidence only a true expert possesses. The only light came form a small flame, which flickered as it danced across his palm, casting long shadows on the barren walls.

A door creaked open at the end of the long room, leaving a sliver of sunlight on the dirty floor.

"Hey, Valdez! You in there?" someone yelled.

The boy's eyes widened as he recognized the voice.

"No, no, no, no, no," he muttered, his hands scrambling to complete his task. He was working too fast; the fragile wire snapped in his hand, sending off sparks. The boy swore softly. This little mistake would set him back a few minutes, precious minutes.

"Leo?" A boy with blonde hair and electric blue eyes peeked around the door.

Leo jumped and turned towards the doorway.

"Hey, Jason," he said, trying to make his voice sound calm. "Didn't see you there. Guess I was too immersed in my work."

"Have you been here all day?" Jason asked, looking around at the dark area.

"I guess so," Leo laughed. His heart sunk. It was too late now. His project would have to wait until tomorrow.

"It's time for dinner," Jason said, turning back to go outside. "Piper was wondering where you were. You should really come outside more often. This place is depressing."

"Yeah," Leo agreed. The workshop _was _rather dreary, but to tell the truth, e liked it that way. The darkness didn't cause any distractions.

"Coming?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there in a sec."

Jason let the door slide closed, and the sliver of sunlight disappeared. Leo sighed. He had been hoping that he had been left alone for just a few more minutes. Now his master plan was set back a few hours, at least. He looked over at the project he had been working on for the past month or so. The wires he had been tinkering with were only part of the huge, metal machine he was building. Well, _repairing_, technically. The rest of it was covered with a huge, dirty sheet.

Leo lit a bowl of oil on fire, and the sheet was bathed in an eerie light, any folds in the fabric causing deep shadows to appear. He walked over and pulled the sheet off in a showy fashion. Leo smirked. This situation was one of the most ironic he'd ever been in. He'd always imagined having the big reveal in the Amphitheater in front of the whole camp, his peers, his siblings, his friends. He would walk up onto the stage, smiling wider than ever before, and whip the cover off like a magician doing a trick. And now here he was, alone, in a room lit by a single lantern. He blinked to adjust to the dim light, his creation slowly coming into focus. In front of him sat a huge, bronze dragon, complete with 20-foot wings, fire breath, 12-inch claws, a bite stronger than a crocodiles, and a seat at the crook of its neck. If Leo didn't know why he had finally gotten around to fixing his dragon, he would be exited to use that seat. He had built it for maximum comfort. It even had a velvet cushion. Leo looked up to the dragon's head. This was the only part he had had when he started the project. The only remaining part of his _last_ big project. Festus, the figurehead of the Argo II.

_No, _Leo told himself. _Don't think of the Argo II. Don't think of your 'friends'. Don't think of how they forgot about you when they didn't need you around anymore._

It was too late. Leo felt himself begin to take a long, painful stroll down memory lane. Back to last summer...

FLASH BACK-

"Yes! Great job, Leo!"

Leo turned and smiled at Piper. The last of the hellhounds were down in Tartarus now, right where they should be.

"High five, man!"

Leo turned to slap hands with Percy, who also wore a huge grin. They hadn't been having many easy fights lately, and it was great to become victorious quickly every once in a while.

The three young demigods turned and walked back to the Argo II, smiling and laughing together.

A FEW DAYS LATER-

"Leo! Man the ship!" Annabeth shouted. "Bring us up! As high as possible!"

Leo nodded and rushed to the wheel. The demigods had been fighting a huge blueberry-colored sea monster, and now both Percy and Jason had been thrown against the helm. Jason was unconscious, and Percy was barely awake. He moaned in pain and frustration. Leo shook a Wii remote, pressed a big red button, pushed a gas pedal, did a dance, and searched "Gerard Way" on Google.

"Festus! Lets go!" he yelled.

The ship creaked and moaned as the engine switched to flight mode and tried to rise into the sky. Long, blue tentacles wrapped around the whole girth of the Argo II.

"Get the arms!" Leo ordered. Annabeth gave him one of those "Hey I/m the leader, I give the commands" glares. Leo put his hands up in compliance.

"Get the arms!" she repeated.

Hazel, Piper, and Frank immediately sprung into action, slashing at the tentacles with everything they could. Leo finally felt some of the tension on the ship lessen, and they jerked higher into the sky. Suddenly, all resistance ceased, and the Argo II was free.

"Nice work, Leo!"

Leo beamed.

LATER-

"We're going down!" Jason yelled. "That sea thing damaged the ship more than we thought!"

Leo swore.

"I'm going down to the engine room!" he announced.

Leo worked as quickly as he dared. Fingers flying, he rushed to release the strain on the engine. He was drenched in sweat. Finally, the engine lit up, humming loudly. The ship abruptly stopped descending.

"Go Leo! We knew you could do it!" Piper had Leo trapped in a bone-crushing hug.

"Although you could have stopped the ship slower," Jason grumbled, rubbing a bump on his head.

SOME TIME LATER-

The war with Gaea was done, and the demigods were safe back at Camp Halfblood. There had been a huge celebration; the party had lasted for many nights. Somehow Mr. D had even managed to sneak in some wine for himself, and the results of that were still apparent. Now, after a few weeks had passed, everything was pretty much back to normal. The Romans had gone back to Camp Jupiter, except for Jason, who had chosen to stay at Camp Halfblood.

"Hey! Where're you guys going?" Leo ran to catch up to his friends, Percy, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason. They were walking towards the archway that lead back to Manhattan.

"We were just headed out for pizza," Piper explained.

"Cool. Can I come?" Leo asked.

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other.

"Actually," Annabeth said slowly. "it was kind of a double date thing."

"Sorry," Percy added.

"Oh. Okay then," Leo smiled. "Catch you guys later?"

"Uh, sure," Jason said, as they all turned to leave.

WEEKS LATER-

Leo drummed his fingers on the table. Piper and Jason were out on another date, Frank and Hazel were in New Rome, and Annabeth and Percy were, well, let's just say they wouldn't want to see Leo anytime soon.

"I shouldn't have put that spider there," Leo mumbled. He looked at the clock. 12:32. Leo sighed. His siblings had kicked him out of the workshop after he had accidentally lit the place on fire, and he had nowhere to go, no one to see, and nothing to do. Just another day in the life of Leo Valdez. Actually, now that he thought about it, Leo hadn't even talked to Piper or Jason in days, and he hadn't had contact with Frank and Hazel in weeks. Annabeth and Percy had only talked to him to yell at him for pranking them. Leo winced, recalling the conversation.

FLASH BACK INSIDE A FLASH BACK-

"Gods, Leo! Do you take _anything_ seriously?"

Leo flashed his signature lopsided grin.

"Of course I do," he said, trying to sound as if that last comment hadn't hurt.

"Then _why_?" Percy glared at him.

"I was bored!"

"Don't you have anything _better _to do?!" Annabeth shouted at him. "Ugh! You're impossible!"

FLASH BACK INSIDE FLASH BACK OVER-

That was two days ago. What Annabeth didn't realize was that he really _didn't _ have anything better to do. Leo felt useless.

FLASH BACK OVER-

As the months passed, that one horrible day had pretty much become Leo's reality. He was always alone, or someone was angry with him. That's when Leo had turned to Plan B. He had run away so many times he had lost count. It wouldn't hurt to do it one more time. But this time would definitely be the worst. This time he would run away from a place that had been a _real _home to him, at least for a while, unlike all the other places he had left. But there was nothing left for him here, anyway. Now that they didn't need him anymore, Leo's old friends didn't even want him around anymore. Every once in a while, someone would remember him, like Piper had, today. But had she noticed that he hadn't had a meal with the rest of the camp in days?

Leo turned back to his dragon. If he didn't show at dinner, people would become suspicious. They would probably catch him before he could escape. Leo sighed and threw the sheet back over Festus. He would have to wait until tomorrow.

THE NEXT MORNING-

It was time. Leo climbed on top of Festus, strapping his legs into the saddle. He pressed a button on the wall, and the entire ceiling slowly began to open, revealing blue sky. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in sight. It made Leo wish he didn't have to do this. But he had procrastinated long enough. It was time.

"Festus, go!" he commanded. Festus whirred and creaked in response, then flapped his wings and took off.

Leo looked down on Camp one more time, his heart aching. But this was for the best. It was always for the best. No one would miss him, anyway.

"Okay, Festus. Let's leave this place."

A FEW DAYS LATER-

"Valdez!" Jason opened the same heavy door, looking back into the room. "Leo?"

No one had seen Leo in days, and Jason figured that this was the most likely place he would be.

"Leo?"

Nobody answered.

"Leo?"

Silence.

"…Leo?"

**Hmm... I'm not sure how I feel about this. Anyway, please review! Criticism is welcome! Thanks!**


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